Nordic Games has picked up most of THQ's remaining IPs. The bankrupt publisher sold its biggest names at an auction earlier this year. Its remaining assets were bundled up, with Nordic Games the big winner.

"First and foremost we are very happy about this deal which also turns over a new leaf for the entire Nordic Games Group," Nordic Games CEO Lars Wingefors said in a press release. "In the long term, we either want to cooperate with the original creators or best possible developers in order to work on sequels or additional content for these titles," he added. (The original creators of the Darksiders IP attempted to buy the rights from THQ, and failed.)

The publisher has also launched a new forum to discuss the company's newly-acquired games.

THQ, the troubled publisher of Saints Row, WWE games, Company of Heroes, Metro: Last Light, the new South Park role-playing game, Red Faction and more, may still be sold in its entirety to an investment group called Clearlake as part of a bankruptcy sale, according to a court ruling.

But other interested parties may also bid on pieces of the company, which is why word has been making the rounds that Warner Brothers and possibly EA as well as other parties of interest might want to pick off some of THQ's franchises.

All bids for THQ's stuff must be in by 9am ET on January 22, THQ reported this morning in an update regarding the bankruptcy court proceedings. There will be a hearing on the sale the day after. The sale(s) close on January 24.

The results could be similar to what happened with the shuttering Midway. Warner Bros. snatched Mortal Kombat. EA wound up with NBA Jam at some point.

So start the parlor game... which companies or people would you like to see take control of the various THQ series/studios?

Wreak havoc across the vast, open-world environment of Mars in the the critically acclaimed, best-selling Red Faction Franchise. Rebel against the Ultor Corporation, replace the dictator Sopot to restore peace, battle for liberation from the oppressive Earth Defense Force (EDF) and finally save Mars from a long-dormant evil released from a mysterious shaft in an old Marauder temple.

Additionally, Steam Cloud integration has been added to many of your favorite THQ titles, allowing your game saves to travel with you wherever you play. Just launch your Steam copy of games like Red Faction Armageddon and your game saves will be copied to the cloud.

Relive the battle for the Terraformer through four incredible new missions featuring aerial flyers, orbital strikes, and the Red Faction armored surface tank. Unlock two destructive new weapons, the Sharpshooter Gun and Shard Cannon, while earning ten new achievements in this thrilling new mission pack for Red Faction: Armageddon!

Despite the guilty pleasures of Red Faction: Guerilla, all it took was one sub-par game in the series (Red Faction: Armageddon) for publisher THQ to, at least temporarily, pull the plug on the series. Which is a damn shame.

In memory of a franchise (or at least its contemporary revival) that lived too fast and died too young, then, here's a collection of top-shelf concept art from the pariah itself, Red Faction: Armageddon.

These character concepts and environment pieces were done by Massive Black, a creative studio based in San Francisco that not only breathes life into the world of video games but that of major motion pictures as well.

To see the larger pics in all their glory, either click the "expand" icon on the gallery screen or right click and "open link in new tab".

Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!

THQ has pulled the plug on its Red Faction franchise following poor sales of RF: Armageddon.

Speaking at an investor call today, CEO Brian Farrell confirmed that "we do not intend to carry forward with that franchise in any meaningful way."

He added that the development team at Volition has been moved onto Guillermo del Toro's inSane survival horror project.

The series began back in 2001 as an FPS on PC and PlayStation 2, with a formal sequel following on a year later. Red Faction: Guerrilla switched to a third person perspective in 2009, picking up a sturdy 7/10 from Eurogamer.